The L.A. Times music blog

L.A. Unheard: Seasons' skillful pop discontent

October 24, 2011 | 8:27
am

The band: Seasons, an L.A. quintet.

The sound: On fresh material such as "Light, Lost" and "Of Our Discontent," Seasons crafts airy, spacious guitar rock. With local producer Raymond Richards on the boards (Local Natives, the Henry Clay People), the group's latest EP is full of polished touches -- a violin arrangement here, a slide guitar there -- but it's the sentimental tenor of Nik Garcia and Erik Morales' busy percussion work that keeps the songs anchored. It's not unlike the reverb-heavy material of Unheard alumni Young Hunting, though Seasons are careful to steer the music away from slumberland: On "Places," Garcia test-drives his best punk rock shout, while Morales cranks up the BPM on "Always."

The random: For their "Of Our Discontent" video, the band nabbed actress Mahaley Manning, best known for mean-girling poor Emma Stone in "Easy A."

The details: Seasons' "Winter" EP, released physically in September, is available now at Origami Vinyl and digitally on Bandcamp. The band will support Swahili Blonde's free residency at the Echo on Monday night and kick off a residency of their own at the venue in January. Keep an eye out for "Fall," the conclusion of the group's EP cycle, on Overheard Records early next year.